Pigtronix FAT Drive Pedal Review

The breadth and quality of Pigtronix
output in recent years has been impressive.
And for its efforts and ingenuity, the
Long Island-based stompbox company has
garnered the favor of such diverse heavyweights
as Andy Summers, David Hidalgo,
Dweezil Zappa, Joe Perry, and Stu Hamm.
Given the knob- and toggle-bedecked
pedals that first put the company on the
map, it’s easy to peg Pigtronix as one of
those outfits that’s always working on the
fringe—creating warbly, wild, whacked-out
pedals that experimental players love. But
while Pigtronix does that stuff very well
(check out our reviews of the Tremvelope
and Echolution at premierguitar.com), the
new FAT Drive proves this is a company
that can cover the nuts and bolts, too. It
reflects a keen understanding of what goes
into making tube overdrive sound great.

Like many overdrives, the FAT promises
tube-like crunch while enabling your guitar’s
true character to shine through. Pigtronix
says it uses cascading gain stages that round
and compress the signal as it begins to clip,
whereas classic designs cut off the top and
bottom of the waveform. The result is a very
tube-like overdrive that’s at home with many
different guitar and amp combinations and
can move readily from subtle to raging.

Lean Cut, Fat Tone
Players accustomed to the plethora of controls
on Pigtronix’s more out-there offerings will
either be pleased or incredulous that the FAT
drive is stripped down to a traditional 3-knob
overdrive setup—volume, gain, and tone. But
there’s also a toggle between the three controls
that delivers a heavy dose of gain when flipped
to the More position. It’s a feature you see in
a lot of aftermarket TS9 and TS808 mods,
and it adds a lot of versatility and the ability to
range from classic, TS-style tones to full-bore
distortion. The side-mounted input and output
jacks are of durable plastic, while the truebypass
on/off switch is of sturdy metal.

The inside of the FAT Drive is packed
head-to-toe with wiring and circuitry. There’s
also no battery. Instead, Pigtronix includes
an 18V power supply. You can also operate
the pedal using your own 9V power supply,
though you lose a lot of the headroom and
transparency that are such a strong suit for
the FAT Drive. However, 9V operation does
increase the gain potential, so if you find
you’re in need of more crunch, try swapping
out the supplied 18V and increasing the volume
to match the previous output.

While the FAT looks straightforward
enough on the surface, its tone control is
more than the simple bass/treble blend you
find on a lot of overdrives. Utilizing a variable
low-pass filter, the FAT rounds off higher frequencies
but retains lows and mids when you
turn it counterclockwise. Turning tone all the
way clockwise turns off the low-pass filter for
a cleaner, more transparent voicing.

Extra Butter, please
To get an idea how effective the tone control
is—and the degree to which it enhances
the FAT Drive’s cool voice—just hook it
up to a biting Telecaster and a 6L6-driven
Bassman. Set the FAT to the point of breakup
with gain a hair above 9 o’clock, keep
tone around 4 o’clock, and set the toggle
to low-gain mode, and you’ll get a cool,
smoked-glass sustain that’s both cutting and
meaty—perfect for the kind of nuance in
Clapton’s Blind Faith leads. Rolling the tone
counter-clockwise really fattens up the lowend
output, which works great for working
with a heavy rhythm section. Such settings
retain the essence of Fender amp overdrive,
while careful adjustment of the tone control
overcomes the loss of definition that some
players don’t like in 6L6 circuits. And it’s
easy to dial in a satisfying crunch that can
cut through any mix.

With a Les Paul in the stew along with
a Fender amp, you can keep the FAT’s
tone control just above the low-pass filter’s
shut-off point to deliver an almost tweedlike,
Chicago blues tone. Dialing tone at
or below 4 o’clock delivers a TS9’s punch
and gives the midrange a little more room
to breathe. But rolling too far into the filter
really accentuates the inherent darkness of
a Les Paul’s humbuckers, which may be a
bit stifling for lead players. These extremely
dark tones are great in the right context
though, and it’s easy to see the FAT gaining
a foothold among the stoner-rock contingent
that likes to drive high-power amps
and humbuckers into the sludgiest zones
possible—this thing will get woolly and big,
if that’s what you need.

Ratings

Pros:
strong low end can really beef up a wispy tone. 18v
power boosts headroom and transparency.

With a 10-watt, EL84-driven CEC Toll
Free Express, the Pigtronix becomes a different
cat entirely. The amp already delivers massive
amounts of drive, so pulling down the FAT’s
gain and increasing its volume gives you a
natural-sounding boost for crunchier leads.
Engaging the effect kills a bit of the amp’s Voxlike
chime but leaves the full-bodied Marshall
weight very much intact. And if you really
want to torque out a smaller amp, flip the
toggle switch into the more position. This had
the CEC howling with fuzzy, string-sectionlike
sustain that accentuated lows and mids.

The Verdict
If you need a bit more than classic TS-style
fare from your overdrive, the Pigtronix FAT
Drive can take you into more expansive
territory without straying from timeless
overdrive tones or your guitar’s most basic
personality. It can move from campfirewarm
tones to blazing jets with the flip of
a switch, and the plentitude of tones and
sturdy build make this pedal a very fair
deal. Some minimalists may be turned off
by the lack of a battery input, but the 18V
adapter opens up the potential and headroom
of the FAT—a nice tradeoff for players
who need a more transparent boost.

Guitars with single-coils benefit most from
its range, but coupled with the right amplifier,
the FAT can enable humbucker fans to
squeeze both nasty and civilized tones from the
Pigtronix circuit. But whatever guitar you go
to most, one thing’s for sure—the FAT drive
will give your tone a ton of extra muscle.

Having rambled across the globe for a few years, Matthew Holliman recently returned to San Francisco, CA. He has a minor obsession with succulents and loose-leaf tea, and major obsessions with silicon transistors and English Bulldogs. When not touring or recording various projects, he’s likely to be found combing backwoods territories on Craigslist for the Holy Grail of guitar gear. The definition of the Holy Grail changes daily. His favorite color is aquamarine, and a few of his favorite books are Dune, Play it as it Lays, and Sometimes A Great Notion. Black licorce is his archenemy. Black Sabbath, on the other hand, rules.